Includes Open Door School, Person Centered Services

Locations for services under Lawrence County Developmental Disabilities (LCDD) and Person Centered Services (PCS) will soon have new locations to call home in the coming years.

The relocations include Open Door School and PCS; however, they will both remain in Lawrence County.

PCS is an organization that provides day services for adults with developmental disabilities, and currently resides in the former Tri-State Industries facility, another adult day services program that was under LCDD. Although LCDD owns the property, the two agencies came to an agreement to end the lease agreement, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

PCS will relocate to two facilities in Lawrence County, one on the eastern end of the county and one in the western end, which will enable the program to offer more options and activities for people, something LCDD Superintendent Julie Monroe says is more in line with the vision that the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities would anticipate from service providers across the state.

“PCS has performed a tremendous task of providing adult day services to people with developmental disabilities in our county,” Monroe said. “The move really helps them in expanding their services throughout the county to areas that are more centrally located to where people reside.”

As soon as PCS vacates the property in Coal Grove, LCDD has plans to begin reconstructing the facility to relocate and house Open Door School, which currently sits at the corner of Lorain and Fourth streets in Ironton, less than two miles away.

Open Door School will remain at its current location for the 2018-2019 school year, and then begin at the new location at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.

Monroe said that the facility in Coal Grove is better suited for Open Door School’s student needs, as the property is more modern and only consists of one floor as opposed to three floors at Open Door School now.

In addition, LCDD also agreed to lease a portion of the Coal Grove property to PCS monthly in the event that PCS would need more time to relocate or update any new properties for DD services, which allows for services to be continuous and without interruption.

“It’s extremely important for us to make sure that we do not have a cease of services of any kind,” Monroe said. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that the school and PCS do not have interruption due to this transition.”

LCDD also has plans to host meetings in the coming months to update the parties as well as answer any questions the public might have.

“We’re excited for this. I know that any type of change raises questions and concerns, but these are certainly changes that are for the good of the people we serve,” Monroe said. “LCDD has heard for years that Open Door needs a new facility, and we’ve known that our adult services need to be more accessible for people. This is our big chance to make these changes and improve our programs to reach full potential.”

For more information on LCDD’s programs, contact the administration office at 740-532-7401 or visit www.lawrencedd.org.